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Sperm banking preparation and procedures

Additional Information on Sperm Banking at the Fertility Center

When possible, the patient should have 2-5 days of sexual abstinence before collecting a sample for banking.  It is preferable that the sample be collected at the Fertility Center, in our collection room, to ensure sample integrity.  If the sample is to be collected offsite, or surgically, the Fertility Center should be notified so that preparations can be made accordingly. 

Once a sample has been collected, it will be mixed with a “cryoprotectant” and divided into a number of storage vials, depending on the initial volume.  Several vials of semen may be generated from a single collection.  Each vial is labeled with the patient’s name, a unique identifier and the date.  The labeled vials of sperm will next be frozen according to protocol and placed into liquid nitrogen storage tanks where they are maintained in a metabolically inactive state.  They will remain viable in this state for many years.  Semen samples stored in liquid nitrogen don’t have a known expiration date, but reports have indicated their successful use more than twenty years after initial storage.

Currently, there are two procedures commonly used to achieve a pregnancy using cryopreserved sperm. 

  1. The first procedure is artificial insemination. For this procedure, a vial(s) of sperm is thawed, prepared, and placed into the uterus using a slender catheter.  Having an adequate concentration of motile sperm is essential for artificial insemination to provide a reasonable chance of pregnancy. 
  2. The second procedure is in vitro fertilization (IVF).  While IVF is significantly more expensive and involved, it can be performed with good success using poor quality sperm.  As a result, this is currently the only good option for patients with suboptimal samples at the time of banking.  

If you have samples in storage, and would like to have them disposed of, it will be necessary to submit a signed and notarized disposition form (Patient Forms) to the Fertility Center.  Patients will be responsible for any storage fees up to the point that a properly filled out disposition form is received.